Ramayana The Game of Life: Shattered Dreams #2 - Shubha Vilas

First things first. I had to delay the review of this book because of work issues, but I made sure that I would use this weekend for this book. So, here am I, a little late, but with the review.

I do not know when was the first time I actually listened to Ramayana. But I knew I was enchanted by it from then. It was delightful how it became a ritual of listening to my grandmother narrating Ramayana every night. 

I believe that's what Indian mythology does to you. It makes you fall in love with it, and no matter how many versions of Ramayana you read, you always crave for more.

Summary of the book:

Shattered Dreams is the sequel to the national bestseller, Rise of the Sun Prince, in the new spiritual and motivational series Ramayana - The Game of Life. Twelve joyful years have passed in Ayodhya since the wedding of Rama and Sita at the end of Book 1.

Now, in Shattered Dreams, Shubha Vilas narrates the riveting drama of Rama’s exile. Through tales of Rama’s unwavering and enigmatic persona, the book teaches us how to handle reversals positively; through Bharata’s actions, it teaches us to handle temptation; and through Sita’s courage, to explore beyond our comfort zone. This complicated family drama provides deep insights on how human relationships work and how they fail.

Review:

When Blogadda listed Shubha Vilas' Shattered Dreams Part 2 for a review, I knew I was going to apply for it. 

A week later when I received the book, I was absolutely pleased.

For starters, the most notable parts of the book are the lucid language, the flow of emotions I have experienced while reading it, and the footnotes.

The footnotes makes it easier for anyone who hasn't read Ramayana earlier.

I haven't read the first part of the book, but I was able to decipher the second part without any difficulty whatsoever.

Like I've already mentioned earlier, this book was written with a good flow of emotions. And these emotions were experienced by the readers too. As this part majorly focuses on the exile of Rama and Sita, I appreciate the way Shubha Vilas wove the intricate details. And he has done that well enough.

I liked the book. Having said that, I also felt that the book got a little preachy on several occasions. It could have been safely avoided.

Well it always comes back to one thing--Can't we just narrate a story without preaching? Can't we accept a good story without a little preaching?

Because that was the deal breaker for this book, and I believe it could have been avoided.

Anyway.

On the whole, this book makes a pretty lucid read for people who haven't read Ramayana earlier. And I would recommend it to people who take interest in Indian mythology and want to start it small.

The best part: The footnotes, and the lucid narration.

My rating: 3/5

Details:

Paperback: 404 pages

Publisher: Jaico Publishing House; First edition (23 January 2015)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 8184955316

ISBN-13: 978-8184955316

Price: 350 INR

You can purchase the book here: Shattered Dreams

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Romi & Gang: Book Review

Book: Romi & Gang

Author: Tushar Raheja

Publishing House: Pirates

ISBN-13 978-81-926810-0-9

Price: 149/-

I was supposed to review this book a month ago but I was so caught up in work that I could not. And finally, I finished reading the book.

The first thing that pops into your head when you see the author's name is 'Anything for you ma'm' which was a national best-seller. This book happens to belong to a completely different genre and I found it as a spot of joy to have read it. What you will really love about this book is the illustrations. They are totally cute and I drifted back into the days of Summer that I spent reading Enid Blyton.

Romi & Gang is a book that narrates the story of Romi and his group of friends. (Of course!) Romi, a thirteen year old boy, deeply passionate about Cricket is adventurous and like the book mentions, he is the hero of his universe. Romi and his gang of friends spend their evenings playing Cricket in the maidan. The major characters that revolve around Romi are Sunny, Golu, Sukhi, Nikita, and Victor Sir. Many instances in this book reminded me of my childhood and the days spent with the childhood friends. Gold!

Romi and his gang spend their days playing Cricket, talking about their school, believing in ghosts etc. Like every child, Romi collects the pictures of his idols and stores them in a book. He adores them. Later, Romi ends up stealing a box of balls for their gully Cricket and their lives change massively when Romi accepts the fault. They are divided into different sections. But it doesn't end right there. They are promoted to ninth grade and the inter school Cricket tournament is the major thing they vouch for. However, they don't make it to the list of the players. So, the junior class competes with the senior class to prove their capabilities. Though, they do not win the match, they earn a huge amount of respect. And that is a huge achievement for them. The newspapers bears news about them the very next day.

I expected something 'huge' out of the character 'Kim' but it was lost somewhere as the plot progressed and that was disappointing. The story could have been more appealing but I did enjoy the book and that is all that matters, right?

This book leaves a fine impression on a reader. Little things can bring a lot of joy and every reader will revisit their childhood through this book.

If you like the review, you can buy it here- I AM PAPERBACK!

Own a Kindle, get your copy here- I AM THE KINDLE VERSION!

Yes, I review books (Painfully slow!) 

You can write to me at sunaina469@gmail.com

Untruly Yours: Book Review

Format: Paperback
Language: English
ISBN: 9789381836293
Pages: 146
Price: 125 INR

To start with, this book’s climax made me grin quite widely. I am a sucker for happy endings and this book sure has one. Initially, I was quite hesitant to spend my weekend on this book instead of Jane Austen’s book.

When Smita Shetty e-mailed me a couple of days ago asking if I’d like to review the book, I was glad for it was grabbing quite a limelight in the Indian chic-lit arena. This book of mere 146 pages is a quick read and it could have been much better if it was written more elaborately. Seriously! Fifty pages into the book and I was glad to read stuff that was so different from the much cliched college romances.

REVIEW:

Untruly yours is a story of Natasha Iyer and her interesting world. This story of a Bengali woman marrying a Tam Brahm makes you chuckle at many places and two-three instances strongly reminds you of 'Two States'...majorly because of Natasha's mother-in-law. Twelve years down the lane, people find her much coveted 'NRI' life a bliss. On the contrary, she finds her life boring and seeks excitement. Her relationship with her husband is heading nowhere, her life is monotonic, her 'Godzilla' mother-in-law is visiting them, and amidst all these disasters, she receives a call from her oh-so-famous-and-pretty sister. The unpredictable turn of events lead her to India along with her son and a Steve, colleague (and oh, a friend). 

Like a blast from the past, she comes across her college mate, Veer Shroff. A single woman  taking a break from her husband, two hot men and loads of complications. The female protagonist has few dark sides, and gets stuck in mess of seduction and flirtation. Well, now, that pretty much sums up the story. This story about love, relationships and its complexities hooks you right from the beginning to the end.

Smita's writing style is simple and humourous. The narration was interesting and this book is a must read for all the ladies who love chic-lits. Hey non chic-lit lovers must read it too. 

And oh, did I mention that the cover is so English and Sophie-Kinsellish? :-D